


Grimm That Feel

by QuietFangirl



Series: Team Skobeloff [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fantastic Racism, Fights, Grimm - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-03-28 01:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13893642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietFangirl/pseuds/QuietFangirl
Summary: Sierra Elsen, Koamaru Miyahara, Bistre Giovannetti, and Falu Xenolalia who form team Skobeloff, all of which are real colors except for the surnames, are my own custom team that are participating in the Vytal Fighting Festival, the fall of Beacon, and possibly more. Prepare for satirical writing, teenagers dealing with some pretty big issues, confusion, and even a little bit of love.





	1. Just Getting Started

Her eyes flared with fury. She adjusted her grip on the practice wooden knives as she glanced around the circle of teenagers that had trapped her. She heard the whisper of bows being pulled back. She waited, holding the fighting crouch. One of the people shifted uneasily. Another yawned. She lunged at the yawning one, knocking her off her feet. Her blade rested up against her neck, and she grinned maliciously. A faint whistling noise came from behind her and she rolled off her, springing to the balls of her feet just as an arrow thudded into the kid’s stomach. It was tipped in a suction cup. She spun on her heel and “stabbed” someone behind her, who dodged. She threw the second knife at the archer, and it buried itself in the wall. Mock arrows shot down from above. She rolled away and was immediately trapped in a full nelson.

She snarled. Lights blinked on, and clapping surrounded them. “Very well done, Miss Elsen,” a voice complimented. 

“Thanks, prof!” The one holding her let her go. “Of course, fighting teammates is pretty easy ‘cause we all train together! No hard feelings, Falu?”

She tossed her head, sending her matted black hair behind her. A corner of her mouth quirked up in a half smile. She let out a low purr in agreement.

“Next time can you not try and take my head off via wooden stake?” a blonde girl asked bitterly, yanking the wooden knife out of the wall. “It’s like, super rude.”

She barked out a laugh. Baring her teeth in a facsimile of a smile, she snarled, “I didn’t hit you. I knew you’d move.”

The other rolled her model-perfect blue eyes and huffed. “You always say that. Is sorry so hard to say?”

“Ladies!” The teacher strode to the center, placing himself between Falu and Bistre. “This is not the time for these arguments. Class is dismissed!”

The three left the chamber, followed by the person Falu had taken out first. 

“What was up with today, Koa?” Sierra asked the girl trailing them. Sierra’s hair was a choppy mess, her light brown hair sticking up at odd angles. Her eyes matched her hair, and her outfit was the simple and boring school uniform. The blazer was slung over her shoulder lazily.

“Not much sleep,” Koamaru replied easily. Her black hair fell to her shoulders, and her dark blue eyes were partially closed from tiredness. “Studying is hard.”

“Preach!” Bistre threw her manicured hands into the air for emphasis. They were painted a soft dark brown, and her thumbs showed her symbol. “I totes blew off studying for the test tomorrow!”

Sierra pouted. “Come on, Bistre! Your education is important!”

“As long as I can fight, why should I have to study?” she countered, her brown sparrow wings rustling in anger. “It’s better than Koamaru falling asleep on the battlefield!”

Koamaru’s face darkened. “I care about my grades,” she snapped. “You should not be satisfied with your hardly passing ones.”

“Oh, you wanna go?” A bow leapt into Bistre’s hand, and she drew the bowstring back intimidatingly.

A pair of knives expanded from Koamaru’s rings, and she crouched. “If you insist.”

Sierra shot a panicked look to Falu. The latter seized Bistre and physically dragged her backwards while the former disarmed Koamaru. Both tuned out to the other two’s loud bickering until General Ironwood, the headmaster of the school, marched over.

“Ladies,” he barked. Bistre and Koamaru froze, Falu glanced over lazily, and Sierra immediately straightened up and made a quick salute. 

“Yes sir!” She stood ramrod straight at attention. 

“At ease, soldier.” His steel gray eyes relaxed slightly, and her posture loosened. “You four will attend the upcoming Vytal fighting festival at Beacon Academy. I trust there are no complaints?”

Falu let go of Bistre and a growl started low in her throat. “Yeah.” The marks on the plates of bone along her shoulders, calves, knees, thighs, elbows, face, forearms, and parts of her back began to faintly glow red. “What will they think of me?”

General Ironwood opened his mouth, but shut it. He frowned for a moment as he formulated his response. “You four are aware of Miss Polendina’s condition?” After a chorus of nods, he finally answered the question. “She is going, and I highly doubt anyone will protest your appearance. If they do-”

“Attack?” she suggested. Her teammates giggled.

“I was going to say, report them.” His frown deepened. “I must arrive at Beacon shortly, and I would prefer to keep you four with me rather than in the airships with the other students.”

They nodded. “Permission to speak, sir?” Sierra requested. At his approval, she continued. “Will we be excused from classes, sir? And may we also have a moment to collect our weaponry?”

“You will be excused from classes, yes.” His eyes glittered with humor as he said, “as for the weaponry, it appears three of your teammates already have them.” Sierra blushed, but didn’t protest. “But yes, you may collect your things. Meet at the docks in an hour.” He marched off, leaving the four girls standing confused.

“May we collect our weapons, sir?” Falu mocked, making her gravelly voice higher than normal to mimic her voice.

“Shut up!” Sierra’s face reddened even further. “He’s a general, I treat him like it!”

“While you hold my knives,” Koamaru added. 

“And my bow was pointed near him,” Bistre contributed, barely holding back laughter.

“And my-” Falu was cut off as Sierra’s voice reached a pitch heard only by dogs and her face became a shade of red that matched Falu’s namesake.

“I get it!” she squeaked. Everyone around her burst out laughing. The team laughed their way to their dorms and packed up their things in what would make a hilarious montage that no one could watch as this is a story, not a video.

They raced to the docks. Falu ran on all fours, Bistre soared overhead, Sierra ran normally, and Koamaru displayed her excellent parkour skills leaping from building to building. 

“I won!” Bistre bragged, flipping her hair over one shoulder. 

“No… fair…” panted Sierra, stumbling to a stop in last place.

“We tied,” Koamaru commented. “How do we resolve this?”

“You don’t.” General Ironwood stomped over, Penny waving over his shoulder. Sierra saluted smartly. Bistre smiled mockingly at the others. Koamaru bowed politely. Only Falu waved back. The general narrowed his eyes at Penny, and she grabbed her hand and lowered it, smiling sheepishly. “On the ship. We can’t be late.” Sierra nodded curtly and marched on board, followed by the uneven loping walk of Falu. Koamaru slid in, and Bistre sashayed after them. 

“Permission to speak sir!” Sierra called out, adjusting the gigantic camouflage-patterned backpack over her shoulder. 

“Permission granted.” He walked past the girls and sat on a cushioned bench. He patted the seat around him, and they rushed to sit down.

“Where should we put our bags, sir?”

He frowned for a moment before gesturing to a section of crates. She gathered up everyone’s bags and set them down neatly.

“Hey, can we get outta these uniforms?” Bistre complained, picking at the plaid skirt.

“There are bathrooms back there.” General Ironwood motioned to a doorway. “Feel free to get comfortable.”

“Dibs!” Bistre shot up and snatched a smaller brown backpack off the floor. Everyone sat awkwardly for the next ten minutes until she emerged. She wore a brown blouse that matched the bag and her nails, paired with high-waisted shorts and strappy light blue sandals. “Well?”

“Nice,” Falu answered before stepping into the bathroom herself. She shed the uniform and tugged on a pair of red spandex shorts. She wrestled with a matching red sports bra and slid a gray hoodie over the top. She loped back out and sat on the floor.

Koamaru took the bathroom next, and took only a few minutes. When she returned, her uniform had been replaced by a pair of deep blue leggings and a bland gray top that would escape notice by everyone unless they were looking.

Finally, Sierra took the bathroom. Hers took the least amount of time and consisted of a pair of brown cargo pants and a tee shirt. “So,” she began after returning to the group, “What’s our assignment, sir?”

“You will be participating in the festival,” General Ironwood explained. “However, keep an eye out for any suspicious persons. I have a feeling something will go wrong, and I don’t want to be proven right.” Sierra nodded sharply. 

“So what defines a suspicious person?” Koamaru asked, spinning her knives between her fingers in boredom. “If someone attacks us take them out?”

“Oh! Should we watch out for anyone with a big sign saying ‘I’m the guilty party?’” Bistre asked.

The general sighed. “Just keep an eye out.”

The rest of the ride was done in silence. Falu amused herself by tracking a particularly invasive red dot, which Bistre was controlling. 


	2. Way Too Many New People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mainly introductions. It may seem a bit repetitive, but at least it's semi-realistic.

Soon, they landed in the docks. The general marched off, Penny in tow. Sierra led the group out in their favored walking order, which was Sierra, Koamaru, Bistre, and Falu. People openly stared, but they brushed them off as they made their way to Beacon Academy.

“Hello,” a redheaded girl greeted calmly. She was followed by a very pink girl, an average looking guy, and an Asian guy with a streak of pink in his hair. “My name is Pyrrha Nikos. It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Beacon Academy!”

“I’m Sierra Elsen.” She held out her hand to shake, which Pyrrha took. “These are my teammates. We’re team Skobeloff of Atlas.”

Koamaru bowed politely. “Koamaru Miyahara.”

“I’m Jaune!” the average guy blurted out. “The leader of team Juniper! These are my teammates Lie Ren,” he pointed at the guy with the pink streak, “Nora Valkyrie,” the pink girl waved excitedly, “and you already met Pyrrha.”

Bistre flipped her perfect blonde locks over her shoulder. “I’m Bistre Giovannetti. Charmed, I’m sure.” She winked. 

Falu quirked up a corner of her mouth, exposing some sharp fangs. “Falu. Yeah, I’m half Grimm. Got a problem with that?” Her eyes flashed in warning.

“No! Nope,” Jaune quickly reassured. “No problems here!”

“Are you here for the fighting festival?” Nora asked excitedly. “I can’t wait to crush you guys into a pulp!”

The girls shared a glance. Falu was the one to rumble out the challenge. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!” she shouted, equipping an overly large hammer.

Falu unhooked the tusk blades from her mouth. She snarled darkly, “Bring it.”

Nora backed up and charged. Falu leapt into the sky, fully vertical. She flipped in midair and sliced downwards, only to hit the metal hammer. Nora smirked and a pink rocket shot into the sky. Falu bent out of the way and slashed, only to get forcefully dragged off by Sierra.

“No!” she scolded, wrenching the tusks out of her claw hands. “We are not fighting in the center of town!” Falu flailed her legs, cutting uselessly at the air. “We will make a good impression or so help me-”

“Fine!” she snapped, ceasing her escape attempts. “Just let go!” True to her word, Sierra released her. Together the motley crew headed to the academy. Falu’s tusks were returned to her mask, and the two teams were given a very wide berth. A lady in a dark red dress with golden trim walked right up to the group and moved through it without stopping. Falu turned, tracking the lady with her eyes.

“She is fearless,” Koamaru commented.

“Or stupid,” Bistre chimed. “Maybe she just isn’t bothered by your appearance?” The question was obviously directed to Falu, and she shrugged unevenly. 

Eventually they reached the school, and the general was standing in the entryway next to a man in a nearly flawless suit. Sierra immediately straightened up and saluted and ignored the odd looks team JNPR gave her.

General Ironwood also stood straighter and stepped forward. “Professor Ozpin, these are the ladies of one of our finest teams. Ladies, this is the head of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin.”

Sierra nodded quickly and extended a hand towards Professor Ozpin, who took it in a slightly more relaxed manner. “Cadet Sierra Elsen, sir! Leader of team Skobeloff, sir! My weapon is a garrote, but I am also proficient with hand-to-hand combat!”

He nodded contemplatively. Koamaru emerged from behind Jaune and bowed deeply. “Koamaru Miyahara. I fight with knives.” It was plain to see from her demeanor that she was not hiding out of fear or nerves, but instead the tactical advantage of not being seen.

Not waiting for any reply from Professor Ozpin, Bistre shouldered Koamaru aside and smiled charmingly. “I am Bistre Giovannetti, the beauty, brains, and brawn of this team.” She winked. “I’m a perfect shot with a bow.”

“If you were attempting to seduce me, miss Giovannetti,” Professor Ozpin shifted his piercing emerald gaze to her, “I’m afraid you’ll find very little success.”

She blushed and looked away, embarrassed at being called out. Falu chuckled, which was a very unusual sound coming from her intimidating and inhuman appearance. “Exposed.” She grinned, fangs staying concealed in her mouth. When Ozpin looked at her, or more accurately looked through her, she matched his steady emerald eyes with her glittering red gaze. “I’m Falu.”

“And your surname?” he prodded patiently.

Her eyes narrowed. In a bitter tone that sounded as if she was gearing up to fight, she snarled, “Don’t have one.”

He nodded and raised his hands in a placating way. “Alright,” he conceded. “The festival is not for another week, so we have prepared one of the Beacon dormitories for you. Please, enjoy your stay here in Vale.”

“Dismissed!” barked General Ironwood and strode confidently into the school after Professor Ozpin.

Sierra’s posture immediately slackened and she hefted everyone’s bags up. “Where’s our dorm?”

Team JNPR glanced at each other and shrugged. “Um,” Jaune started. “We don’t know exactly?”

“Okay then!” Sierra announced, spinning on her heel. “The hunt for our dorm is a-go!”

“Actually,” a polite, accented voice began, “I was sent to show you to your room.” Her brown rabbit ears poked up from her straight brown hair, and she was smiling nervously. Falu raised a pitch black eyebrow and tossed her head. The girl flinched slightly. “This way, please.” 

She led them through the halls of Beacon, leaving team JNPR behind. The walk was comfortingly quiet and empty, devoid of the stares Falu collected everywhere. They reached a simple dorm room that was empty except for four beds. Team SKBF shared a glance before running forward to claim a bed.

Falu claimed hers first and sprawled out over the covers. Koamaru sat down neatly on hers, Bistre laid across hers elegantly, and Sierra jumped onto hers after dumping the luggage in a heap. 

“Bye bunny girl.” Falu waved a clawed hand lazily, her hoodie sleeve sliding up to expose the bone plate on her forearm. “Nice to meet you or whatever.”

The girl blinked in shock and nodded, her hair falling into her eyes. “Um, likewise! And, um, my name’s Velvet.”

Her other teammates started gossiping loudly, and she couldn’t restrain a low, annoyed growl. They all ignored her, and she left the room. Velvet turned to her, startled. 

“Sorry.” She forced herself to focus on the silence of the halls instead of the bland chatter of her room. “They’re great but they can be a bit much after a few hours in a confined space.”

The girl giggled for a moment before adopting her usual closed-off stance. “I know how that is. My team is, well, the best I could ask for, but…” She trailed off, and the silence grew to an awkward point.

“Falu,” she blurted. At Velvet’s confused stare, she clarified, “My name’s Falu. I forgot to mention that.”

Velvet nodded. She reached her hand out hesitantly, and she took it uncertainly. 

“Velvet!” a girl called. She jumped and pulled her hand back. “Hey, you finish showing the Atlas girls…” She stopped talking as she registered Falu’s appearance. A Gatling gun took the place of a fancy black handbag, and she aimed it right at her chest. “Get. Away. From. It.” 

She crouched down and shifted her forearms over her chest, hands just below her tusk handles. It was a primarily defensive position, but at a moment’s notice she could have her weapons drawn. “She,” she growled. “I am not an it.” She put venom behind each and every word, going as far as to spit out the final word.

The newcomer seemed taken aback by her talking, but didn’t tuck her Gatling gun away. “You’re part Grimm. Stay away from my teammate.”

“She can do what she wants,” Falu retorted. She shifted position to one that would probably be either impossible or incredibly difficult for a human to fight in. Her body was shifted behind her legs, but her feet miraculously kept her upright. One arm supported her weight in the front, hand flat on the ground in line with her knees. The other was still up near the tusks.

“I can make my own decisions!” Velvet shouted, moving between the girls. “Coco, Falu has been nice to me and hasn’t made a single remark about my ears! I can make my own friends and handle myself!” Her breath was heavy with exhaustion and what was probably surprise at her own actions.

Coco’s weapon shifted back into a handbag, and she stepped around Velvet. “Sorry,” she apologized, holding out a hand to help her up. She stared at the proffered hand and ignored it, instead moving her free hand behind her and pushing off the ground with the other. She flipped over, her hoodie riding up again and showing her obvious bone plates. Coco rested her hand on her hip and flipped her short hair over her shoulder. “Cool. ‘m Coco Adel, leader of team Coffee, which is the one Velvet’s on. Sorry about the whole trying to kill you thing.”

She raised a jet black eyebrow and smirked. “I’d be bothered, but I’m from Atlas.” Coco burst out laughing, and Velvet tittered softly. “I really don’t recommend it. Not unless you enjoy the stares and muttered comments.”

“Yeah, we won’t be visiting.” Coco pulled her sunglasses down her nose and looked at her over the frames. “Your style is uncoordinated. I dig it.” The two ladies walked off, Coco sauntering away and Velvet rushing to keep up.

Falu cocked her head and grinned, teeth remaining hidden. She walked around the campus, not willing to return to her room but also not ready to brave the rest of the city. Negative energy permeated the air, but it was evenly balanced by the waves of positivity. She frowned and tracked the negativity to its source and discovered a girl about her age with black hair, a matching black bow atop her head, and an outfit to match.

As quietly as possible, she crawled over and splayed out next to the girl, who gasped and reached for a ribbon on her arm. She opened one eye and winked. “What’s up?”

“Wha- Who are you?” she corrected, and Falu purred in content at the girl’s mindfulness.

“Falu,” she replied semi-smoothly. “Of Atlas. I’m half Grimm with a soul. I don’t know how it works.”

The girl nodded and wiped at her face subtly. Not subtly enough, however. She cleared her throat. “Blake.”

The conversation dissolved into silence. She could see faint tear tracks on Blake’s face and the way her bow twitched gently. “What’s up?” she asked again after more time had stretched by. 

Blake looked down at her but didn’t answer. “What do you mean?” she hedged. “My team got back from a pretty quiet mission, that’s all.”

She snorted. “I said I’m half Grimm, and something that happened is kicking up a cloud of negative energy around you. I’m curious and trying to help.”

Blake sighed, long and deep. She turned her head away. “I found out one of my teammates is biased against Faunus.” 

She hummed, waiting for more of an explanation that never came. “Well,” she began upon realizing that was all she was going to say, “That’s a habit you can try to fix.” At the incredulous stare, she rolled her eyes and continued. “You can try and help show whoever your teammate is that Faunus can’t just be lumped together. Show them the better Faunus of Remnant.”

She frowned contemplatively. “How do I do that?”

Falu huffed in more amusement than annoyance. “How should I know?” With this she stood back up. With a halfhearted wave, she walked off. People kept out of her way, and it was starting to grate on her nerves. She climbed the stairs inside the academy until she was peacefully on the roof, where her peace was washed away in a cloud of negativity.

Jaune was leaning out over the balcony, and she remembered passing Pyrrha on the way up. At her footsteps, he spun around. “Oh, hi Falu.” He relaxed slightly, but not by much. “Uh, what’s up?”

“That’s a question I was going to ask you.” She padded forward and jumped up to sit on the balcony railing. “Lots of negativity around here.”

His demeanor shifted. He was no longer the confused average student. He seemed more solemn. “It’s nothing.” He folded his arms and started to walk down the stairs. “Don’t worry about it.”

Falu raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, but sighed, shaking her head. It wasn’t her problem. She headed back to her room, which was decently empty. The only one there was Koamaru, and she could only tell from the slight shade difference on the wall. She flopped on her bed lazily and sprawled out. Koamaru quietly stepped from the wall, her color returning to her normal shades, and sat next to her.

“Hello.” She fell backwards on the bed as well so that both of them were getting a lovely view of the ceiling. “Where have you been?”

“Around,” she replied vaguely, gesturing at the ceiling. “Met some people. Helped a girl.”

Koamaru hummed. “Collected more stares?”

Falu nodded. “No one suspicious, though. The girl was hiding her Faunus ears. She’s probably a cat, judging from her mood and actions.”

The door was thrown open. “Ten-hut!” Sierra filled the door frame, and both girls craned their necks to see her. “I have located some suspicious figures! We must commence takedown!”

As soon as the door had opened, Koamaru had became the exact shade of the bed. Falu sat up and slumped over her knees. “Who?” she asked calmly.

“Criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick, orchestrator of countless dust robberies!” Sierra unveiled a thick manila folder from behind her back, which was promptly taken from her grasp by Bistre as she shouldered her way into the room. “Hey!”

“You’re acting way too serious,” she pointed out, flipping through the folder. “Wow. This guy is seriously bad.”

“No duh!” The pair fought over the folder for a solid minute, so feverishly that they didn’t see Falu grab it and recline on her bed next to Koamaru.

“I say we get him,” she suggested, holding up the picture of a man with red hair and a smug smirk. “He looks like a jerk.”

Fading back into view, Koamaru said, “In my downtime I caught wind of a White Fang meeting. If the file is to be believed, he ought to be presenting there. We can bring him down in the crowd.”

“Lotta witnesses.” Falu hunched over her shoulder and read the file. “I have a pretty distinct appearance.”

“According to common intelligence, the White Fang wear Grimm masks to conceal their identities,” Koamaru informed them. “It would be simple to play it off as a disguise. Besides, more witnesses means more conflicting stories.”

Sierra looked up and got off of Bistre. She helped her back up. “Oh my gosh!”

In unison, both Sierra and Bistre squealed, “Dress up!”

Falu reeled back and growled. “No.”

“A skirt would efficiently hide your leg plates,” Koamaru mused. “It can match your hoodie if need be.”

She huffed and blew a lock of her jet black hair out of her eyes. “Fine,” she snarled. 

Now decked out in a gray hoodie and a long gray skirt, Falu and her team approached the meeting place. She shot a conspiratorial wink at Blake and the young man she was with before walking in. Sierra was staying outside and pacing in annoyance. She was the only team member that was human, and therefore she stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Hey girls,” a man in a black cloak and Grimm mask called. The whole team paused. “The one with wings can keep walking. You two, where are your traits?”

Koamaru shifted color. “I am a chameleon,” she explained. “My friend here is part panther.” Falu displayed her claws and feigned embarrassment. The man nodded, passed Koamaru and Bistre Grimm masks, and let them through.

It didn’t take long for the presentation to start. She stiffened at the mass of collected negative energy and held back a snarl. She nudged her teammates, who shrugged her off. The man, Torchwick, took the stage and fed the masses a pile of false information about the Atlas army and its technology. Her muscles tensed as the crowd cheered loudly, full of anger, vengeance, spite, and overall negative energy. Her claws tapped anxiously on the floor. A blur of black shot through the air towards Torchwick.

“There it is,” Bistre muttered before flaring out her wings. She climbed into the air as Koamaru vanished into the crowd. Falu took the more direct approach. She charged through the throng of people, pulling her tusks out of the hoodie pocket and affixing them to her face. She dropped on all fours and tore through the crowd. She tackled the nearest soldier and growled. 

A volley of arrows ripped through the holograms of Atlas tech. Knives thunked solidly in the wall, following Torchwick’s retreat. She leapt off the poor soldier and charged after the man, releasing the negative energy buildup in one giant and bone-shaking roar. He fired bullets of dust after her, but she shook them off. In an instant Sierra was on his shoulders and wrapping her garrote around his neck. Falu growled and unhooked her tusks, trapping his torso between them. Bistre settled on the rooftop, arrow aimed at his chest, and Koamaru had a knife against the small of his back.

“Don’t. Move,” Sierra snarled. 

“And if I do?” he challenged, voice slightly strained. The garrote pulled tighter, Bistre cleared her throat, the dagger pushed slightly into his back, and Falu smiled. It was unnerving and beastial, less of a smile and more like a wild animal exposing its teeth not as an apology or a sign of weakness, but as a challenge. He slowly and deliberately raised his arms up over his head in surrender. A blast of fire knocked Bistre down, and a second removed Sierra from his shoulders.

“You can’t even handle a single team,” a lady commented mockingly. She was shrouded in shadow and was partially hidden in an airship. A third blast slammed into Falu’s shoulder, and she recoiled. She dragged Torchwick to the ground, refusing to loosen her weaponry. Another lady, this one with dual-colored hair and eyes, grinned serenely down at her before bringing a parasol down on her. She brought up her weapon to block, and Torchwick freed himself from her grasp. The pair posed for a moment as Falu recovered her wits, but as she slashed at them, the image faded away. The airship flew off. 

Sierra got back to her feet and shouted in frustration. “I can’t believe this!” she moaned. “He was trapped! We had him! There was nowhere for him to go! And we lost him!”

“Yeah well he had a fire lady,” Bistre pointed out. “And a weird multicolored one.”

“He was in our grasp!” she ranted, hardly registering her comment. “We beat him! Fair and square!”

“Nice job,” the young man complimented, walking over. His prehensile tail flicked behind him. “My name’s Sun.”

Sierra’s eyes narrowed into brown slits of fury. “Nice job? Nice job? We let him get away!” She threw her hands up into the air. Koamaru laid a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She lowered her hands, but still glared.

“Yeah,” Blake murmured. “I can’t believe it. We were so close.”

“Well we didn’t know he had help!” Bistre rephrased, her wings settling between her shoulder blades. “I’m a sparrow not an owl!”

Falu stood up and dusted herself off. Everyone’s eyes turned to her. Blake, Sun, and Koamaru had removed their masks already. Bistre’s was shoved up on top of her head. “I couldn’t even sense them,” she noted pensively. 

“Um, maybe we should get somewhere safer?” Sun offered. “Like, no offense, but we’ve got five Faunus right outside of a White Fang meeting, all with weapons drawn, and two with masks. And then we’ll need introductions.”

Sierra looked around, and police sirens blared in the distance. She looked around at the others and found her teammates all looking at her for guidance. “Okay.” She took a long breath and straightened up. “Alright!” Her voice was much more confident. “We will return to our dorm and hold our debriefing there. Dismissed!” She saluted and ran off in the general direction of Beacon.

“I’ll go after her,” Bistre volunteered begrudgingly. She spread her wings gracefully and soared after her. 

Falu clambered after them, choosing the side roads and keeping away from public eye. Koamaru trailed after her in the shadows. Anyone that would notice their arrival was either asleep or didn’t particularly care. Or they were quietly watching and observing, which set Falu on edge. She noticed a familiar green glint in the approximate location of the headmaster’s office, and a chill shot down her spine. 

She was the last one in the room. Koamaru must have scaled the wall or something, because she knew she was behind her when she entered. Sun was sitting cross-legged on the floor, Sierra was draped over her bed, Blake was sitting against the wall, Bistre leaned nonchalantly against the wall next to the one Blake had claimed, and Koamaru was hidden right next to Blake. She lumbered over to her bed, jumped up, and turned, squatting and facing the rest of the group.

“So!” Sierra sat up. “My name is Sierra Elsen, leader of team Skobeloff from Atlas! My pronouns are she and her, and I’m human!”

“Sun Wukong of Vacuo.” He waved at the room at large. “I moved to Mistral a while back. Leader of team Sun from Haven. He/him pronouns, and I’m a Faunus. Monkey, obviously.” He waggled the tail in question.

“So are we making this a free-for-all or are we going in team order?” Falu asked. When no answer came, she sighed roughly. “Free-for-all it is. That’s more my style, anyway. ‘M Falu of team Skobeloff, also Atlas, she/her pronouns but I don’t particularly care which ones you use for me as long as they aren’t it or its. I’m basically what happens when Atlas scientists decide to implant a human soul in a Grimm.”

Blake and Sun looked at her oddly, and she shrugged in her signature uneven way. “Well,” Koamaru began in a clumsy attempt to change the subject, “My name is Koamaru Miyahara of team Skobeloff. My pronouns are she and her, and I am a chameleon Faunus.”

Bistre shifted so that the wall wasn’t bearing almost all of her weight. “Bistre Giovannetti, a sparrow Faunus on team Skobeloff.” She shot a flirtatious wink at Sun. “My pronouns are she and her.”

“Blake Belladonna.” She stood up and sat next to Sun, pressed up against his shoulder. “On team Ruby. She/her pronouns.”

“So why were you after that jerk?” Bistre asked, wings fluttering.

“He’s had some run-ins with our leader,” Blake explained. “He also steals dust and is a criminal.”

A faint cry came from outside the door, and everyone turned. As it became louder, the cry became clear. “Blake!” The “A” was drawn out so long that Falu almost fell asleep before the word ended. A young girl in a distinct red cloak burst into the room, followed by a pair of humans, one with a mane of yellow hair and the other with a sleek silver ponytail that Falu instantly recognized as the hair color belonging to members of the Schnee family who run the Schnee Dust Company.

“Where have you been?” snapped the Schnee girl. Her eyes, full of disdain, fell on Sun. Her face twisted into one of rage and disgust. “You’ve been galavanting with this Faunus… ruffian?” Falu bit back a growl. Sierra shrugged off the comment in typical human style, and Koamaru let the comment slide off of her, but Bistre was furious.

Her wings flared open, scattering brown feathers behind her. “And what’s so wrong with Faunus?” she retorted, words dripping with venom. 

The Schnee girl stuttered angrily. “I’ll have you know that I’m Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company! Or are your stupid animal brains too dumb to realize that?”

Falu shifted, ready to pounce. She wasn’t quite sure who would attack first, but she was ready to tackle them and roughly diffuse the situation.

“Stupid animal brains?” Koamaru repeated from behind Weiss. From the latter’s faint squeak, a knife was most likely held against her back. “Care to elaborate?”

“No way, chameleon girl,” the third girl growled. Koamaru was lifted into the air by the collar of her shirt. “You don’t get to hurt my teammate.”

Weiss jutted her chin out imperially. “See? You Faunus are just too stupid to strategize properly.”

Falu tensed. Sierra was still not bothered by what was happening, and Koamaru was currently, for lack of a better word, subdued, but Bistre was fuming.

In one fluid motion, the bow was in her hands, drawn, and aimed directly at Weiss’ chest. “Say. That. Again. I DARE you.” 

“Stop!” the girl in a red cloak cried, moving directly between Bistre and Weiss. “Yang, put her down! Ice Queen, shut up!” Weiss mumbled something about the nickname, but stopped at the short girl’s glare. “Um, I don’t know your name, but whoever you are put your weapon away! Blake,” she turned her silvery gaze to Blake, “we were so worried!” She ducked around Bistre and swallowed Blake up in a massive bear hug.

Sierra surveyed the newcomers. She sprang to her feet and extended a hand at the short girl in a cloak. “Sierra Elsen, leader of team Skobeloff of Atlas. These are my teammates Koamaru, Bistre, and Falu.” When their name was brought up, each girl waved. Except for Falu, who raised an eyebrow, causing her facial plate to shift slightly, and smiled intimidatingly.

“Sup,” she growled. Weiss gasped and unsheathed a rapier. She crawled off the bed and moved to that the blade’s point was pressed up against her chest. “Myrtenaster. An impressive rapier, built to be used by those rich enough to get several types of dust.” 

Weiss took a half-step back and sheathed her blade. She took a moment to recover her wits before saying, “Well at least one of you can recognise status. But,” she paused and studied her facial plate, “why do you still have the Grimm mask?”

Falu barked a laugh and slid off her skirt and hoodie, revealing her dark skin, muscular build, and, more importantly, the plates along her arms, legs, and over her back. “It’s not a mask. I’m technically a hybrid of Grimm and human, thanks to Atlesian scientists.”

“Cool,” the yellow-haired girl commented, letting go of Koamaru, who promptly vanished. “The hyper girl is our oh-so-brave leader and my little sister Ruby! I see you’ve met Ice Queen and Blake-” Weiss muttered her contempt of the nickname but no one took it into account- “so… That just leaves me!” She held out a pale hand, which Sierra took. “Yang Xiao Long, at your service!” She winked, which Bistre returned.

“It’s really late, isn’t it?” Bistre asked rhetorically. A chorus of nods came from around the room. “I say we all go to bed. And Yang, I’d be glad to go to yours.”

Sierra went bright red, as did Ruby. Blake stared incredulously, Sun laughed, and Weiss sighed. Koamaru was still invisible, and Falu clucked her tongue. “Kinda obvious, Bistre.”

Yang blinked for a moment while she registered the comment. She laughed. “I like you.”

Team Ruby and Sun left, and Bistre frowned. “That… um… should I go?”

Sierra shook her head. “Nah. We got a training class in the morning.”

Everyone settled down for bed. Bistre was lying on her side, awkwardly trying to fit her wings without crushing them or her cleavage. Sierra was primly lying flat and stiff on the bed, the perfect image of a soldier. Koamaru was curled on her side, colors shifting as she dreamt. Falu was also curled up, but she was a ball atop the covers like a cat. 


	3. Sappier Than a Tree

The next week was a blur of training and chatting. It went by slowly but by the time it was over, it seemed to have gone by in a flash. The only memorable part of it was…

The dance.

There was the drama of who goes with who, but that’s expected at any dance full of teenagers. In the end, Sierra chose to go by herself and was perfectly happy to get photos taken of her by herself, Bistre was going to ask Yang but ultimately decided to attend alone, and Koamaru asked Falu to go with her.

“Hey guys!” Yang greeted. Bistre’s jaw dropped slightly at the image of her in a poofy white dress and beautiful white pumps. “You four look great!”

She blushed and self-consciously fussed with the hem of her tight robin’s egg blue dress with silver trim, being careful not to disturb the semi-sweetheart neckline hugging her chest. Her brown hair was cascading down her back in elegant waves. Her wings fluttered gently. “So do you.” Her shoes were delicate silver sandals with matching straps.

“Aww, thanks!” Her voice was cheery, which mirrored the positivity dripping off her.

Koamaru’s outfit was relatively showy for once, but couldn’t hold a candle to Bistre’s revealing dress. She wore a shimmering black cheongsam that clung to her figure. It was patterned with dark blue and green flowers, and her hair was tied up in a side bun. She held out a hand to Falu, silently suggesting a dance.

Falu was in a red dress with a bateau neckline just below her collarbone. Her sleeves reached just past her elbows, and the skirt fell to a few inches beneath her knees. Both she and her partner were in black kitten heels. Her hair was brushed and styled for once, and it reached to her shoulders. She took Koamaru’s hand and they headed to the dance floor together, and she winked at Sierra, who was making her way over to the food.

Her dress, despite the length, didn’t decide to trip her. The neckline was dark brown and off-shoulder. The waistline was high and made her look thinner than she really was. The skirt was loose, slightly frilly, sheer, and a lighter shade of brown with accents of gold. Her feet were not visible beneath the hem. 

Bistre flirted through the whole dance, not caring who it was she flirted with. Sierra kept away from the attention of others, instead choosing to hang out with the food. The important ones during the dance were not those two. The important ones were instead Koamaru and Falu, the pair that understood each other’s struggles, the pair that had forever been at each other’s sides. The pair that adored each other. The pair that would make an incredible side story. The pair that had gone from strangers, to friends, to mutual pining, to finally…

Girlfriends.

“I have had feelings for you for a long time,” Koamaru admitted. “You… intimidated me. I was small-minded when we formed the team. Remember?”

Falu just nodded, focusing as best she could on not stepping on her partner’s toes during the slow dance.

“You helped me. I realized that there were some people who were not going to fight me, and that would instead fight with me,” she continued. “The world had given me nothing, but it had given you less.

“I felt like you… understood. We bonded over not having anything, but at least I had love. A family. You… did not. And so, I began to feel as if you needed a section of the love I reserved for my family. When I began to feel that love for you, I tried to convince myself that it was platonic. It took forever, and for Bistre to arrive with her first girlfriend, that I found out how I really felt. Falu,” she paused to take a steadying breath, “I love you.”

Falu chuckled gently. “I love you too.” An embarrassed but comfortable silence settled over them despite the music and other couples surrounding them. “I think you asking me to this dance kinda let me know.”

Both of them laughed. Koamaru laid her head on her shoulder and they rocked to the music together.

“Hey,” Falu began. Koamaru looked up at her curiously. “Can I kiss you?”

She stood up on tiptoe, skin faintly beginning to flush pink. She gently pressed her lips to Falu’s before pulling away slightly. Falu nervously lifted her up and kissed her. Her eyes were closed, so she didn’t see, but Koamaru became a rainbow of color. They pulled apart breathlessly. She returned to her normal color scheme. People around them snickered, and Falu snarled.

Koamaru placed a hand on her new girlfriend’s chest and pointed. Jaune was wearing a knee-length white dress with a sweetheart neckline tied around the waist with a gray ribbon. To finish the outfit, he had a pair of sneakers on his feet.

It made a very entertaining end to the ball, and the entire team left early to prepare for the match tomorrow.


	4. Match Number One

The team prepared themselves for their battle. They were dressed in proper fighting gear. Koamaru’s was light, relatively skin tight, and a mixture of colors and shades that she was just wholly uninteresting to look at. Sierra had a tank top in camo colors, cargo shorts, and a cream-colored hat as well as sunglasses. Bistre showed considerable cleavage and her toned thighs, having purposely selected a skirt just long enough to cover the essentials and a shirt that was a few sizes too small. Falu wore her normal sports bra and shorts, each in the vivid shade of red that she preferred.

As their team was called, they entered the arena. Sierra marched confidently, garrote wrapped around her wrist as a bracelet. Koamaru moved precisely, as if she was already in a war zone. Bistre soaked up the attention from the crowd, sending winks, waves, and kisses to various audience members. Falu stayed behind them, avoiding everyone’s notice. They were up against a group from Beacon that they hadn’t really talked to called Cardinal.

Sierra faced their leader, Cardin Winchester, and held out a hand. “To a fair match.”

He sneered at her as the buzzer sounded, slicing at her with his sword. She reeled back and readied her garrote. A sharp flap of wings followed by a gust of wind meant Bistre was airborne, and just by looking Falu could see all their weaponry was close-combat. She unhooked her tusks and roared.

She sprang at the one with a light green mohawk, who flipped out of the way. She spun on her heel and pursued. She ignored the arrows shooting down from above and instead changed her target to Cardin. As a ripple of color appeared behind the one she was chasing, she nodded and charged at him.

He rebuffed her with his shield. She hooked one tusk over the top of the shield and forced it down. She slashed at his smug face, but was parried. She twisted the tusk, wrenching the sword out of his grasp.

Colors were blurring, going from the green-tinged yellow ground of the rocky battlefield, to the silvery mish-mash of the stadium and the audience, to the bright crystal blue of the sky. Falu landed in a heap on the other side of the stadium and only stopped her skid when she slammed against a tree. The stadium was half rocky mountain and half forested landscape, one side for Atlas and the other for Vale. The opposing team probably thought they had a home field advantage. A haze of dark shadow rippled around her but soon dissipated. This was still her environment. Grimm belonged everywhere and humans didn’t.

She shook her head forcefully. _No_. Those were not good thoughts. A dagger flew out from a bush and ricocheted off one of her plates. She growled, low and dark, and sprang into the bush, cutting into the aura of the green kid from before.

“Watch out!” Bistre shouted from the air as a halberd whistled. She twisted and blocked with her arm, missing her tusks. She used the green kid as a spring pad and nearly mauled another guy with slick silver hair. He shouted and shoved her off him. She flipped in midair and landed on all fours, facing the center. She charged, scooping up the tusks on her way, and leapt at the stone cliff face. She dug her tusks in and scaled the cliff, only to face a stern looking man with squinted eyes.

He unsheathed a shortsword and stabbed down at her. Falu shifted out of the way, narrowly missing the bronze sword. She snarled and removed one tusk. She stood up on the second one and slashed. He stepped back, and she gripped the second tusk with her feet. She flipped forward, yanking her second tusk out of the cliff and bringing it down on the man. She tossed the other tusk into her free hand and leapt at the man.

They traded blows, Falu remaining the aggressor, until the man was backed up against the stadium boundary. He vainly tried to cut her down, but she didn’t relent and instead forced him out of bounds. She pulled off a flawless backflip, hooking her tusks back to her mask, and charged the guy with the halberd. She wasn’t able to reach him before his aura was drained by a knife thrown with razor-sharp accuracy by Koamaru.

The crowd went wild. “Sierra Elsen, Koamaru Miyahara, Bistre Giovannetti, and Falu Xenolalia of team Skobeloff of Atlas have beaten Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark of team Cardinal from Beacon Academy!” the announcer shouted over the cheers.

Falu quirked up a corner of her mouth. “Xenolalia,” she murmured. “Not half bad. Better than a gap.”

“It has a second meaning,” Koamaru noted. At a set of odd stares, she defined it. “It is when a person speaks in a nonexistent language, most commonly referred to as ‘speaking in tongues.’”

Falu barked out a laugh. “I like it.”

The team moved up to the stands, watching intently as team RWBY crushed the opposing team.

“Who should move on to the second round?” Sierra asked. “Two people go instead of the whole team.” Koamaru and Bistre shrugged.

“Strategically speaking,” started Falu, “We should pair up a tank and a ranged fighter. Objectively, I’m the best aggressor because Sierra needs to get closer than I do and in order to deal true damage she needs to get around their neck.”

“Good idea,” affirmed Sierra. “As for Bistre or Koamaru, each has their certain skillset. Bistre deals more long-distance damage, but Koamaru is more versatile. And both are harder to hit.”

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Bistre offered. Koamaru nodded. “Before we actually do it, it’s best of three.”

Koamaru won.


End file.
